Chattanooga Readers and Writers Fair celebrates the written word of locals

Shawn Kurrelmeier-Lee Shawn Kurrelmeier-Lee

By Lynda Edwards August 25, 2016 1 min read

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Chattanooga Readers and Writers Fair celebrates the written word of locals

"Camp Redemption" by Raymond L. Atkins, who will be among the panelists discussing fiction at 2 p.m.

"Click" by Rebecca Cook, one of the fiction panelists.

Corinne Hill, executive director of the Chattanooga Public Library, will emcee a creative nonfiction panel at 1 p.m.

James McKissic, director of the city's Office of Multicultural Affairs, has organized the first Chattanooga Readers and Writers Fair, set for Saturday, Aug. 27, at City Hall.

If you go

› What: Chattanooga Readers and Writers Fair.› When: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27.› Where: Chattanooga City Hall, 101 E. 11th St.› Email: jhmckissic@gmail.com.

Schedule

10 a.m. STORYTELLERS› Emcee: Shawn Kurrelmeier-Lee, chief reading officer at Read 20 Hamilton County› Vincent Phipps, owner of Communication VIP Training & Coaching› Finn Bille, storyteller and poet with Rick Davis on hammered dulcimer› Ginnie Strickland Sams, writer and Storyteller11 a.m. POETS› Emcee: Ray Zimmerman, poet and vice president of Chattanooga Audubon Society› John C. Mannone, retired physics professor and director of programs for Chattanooga Writers Guild› KB Ballentine, high school teacher and college adjunct faculty› Earl Braggs, author of “Ugly Love (Notes From the Negro Side of the Moon)”Noon. 5-MINUTE STORYTELLING› Emcee: Maria Noel, director of diversity and inclusion for Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce1 p.m. CREATIVE NONFICTION› Emcee: Corrine Hill, director of Chattanooga Public Library› Deborah Levine, author of “The Liberator’s Daughter”› Erin Tocknell, teacher, essayist and author of “Confederate Streets”› Linda Murray Bullard, chief empowerment officer of LSMB Business Solutions2 p.m. FICTION› Emcee: Ardena Garth Hicks, attorney and planner at Lean In-Women Groundbreakers› Rebecca Cook, Bread Loaf Scholar, author of “Click”› Raymond L. Atkins, author of “Camp Redemption” and “Sweetwater Blues”› Dr. Thomas Balázs, author and senior associate English department head at UTC

Oxford, Mississippi. Ann Arbor, Michigan. Asheville, North Carolina. Key West, Florida.

All of these colorful and picture-pretty towns have proven to be magnets for world-famous writers, wordsmiths who didn’t need a mega metropolis to produce their best work. Wouldn’t it be great if the Scenic City could provide writers the same vibrant community that musicians and visual artists can find here?

Now the first Chattanooga Readers and Writers Fair offers a chance for established and aspiring writers – and those who love to read their words – to network and find inspiration.